2012 NFL Draft Projections: Predicting 5 Quickest Big-Name Flameouts

As the NFL evolves, so do scouting departments. Every season when the new flood of talent rushes in, NFL front offices sort through the group to weed out the non-worthy. However, even with the immense history of reference the NFL has, the dreaded flameouts still slip through the cracks.

These commonly coined "busts" have the potential to back a franchise up for a decade. The looming thoughts of guys like JaMarcus Russell, Rick Mirer and Tim Couch haunt the dreams of those who roam the NFL's front offices. Not only do flameouts cost GM's their jobs, but the long-term financial toll is hard on a franchise as a whole.

Nothing good comes from a misevaluated player. Organizations are doomed to the bottom of the league and coaches find themselves watching from a couch.

So who are the potential big-name flameouts in 2012?

1. Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

So far, Alshon Jeffery and his people have done everything they possibly can to top this list.

Only a few weeks back, a rumor started floating around the draft community that Jeffery weighed in at 249 lbs. during his pre-draft workouts. While carrying all that weight, he's allegedly clocking the 40-yard dash in 4.88 seconds.

For those of you who aren't familiar with 40 times, 11 defensive tackles have ran faster than 4.88 since 2005. In my NFL draft research, I couldn't find a single WR that had ever cracked the 4.8s. To run that time would be draft stock suicide.

While it's hard to imagine these reports being true, people from Jeffery's camp haven't exactly refuted it. Typically when a story similar to this comes out about a prospect, the agency representing the player makes a quick statement protesting the criticism. That hasn't happen yet with Jeffery.

Even without this nightmare-ish report, Jeffery provided the NFL with concerns. Inconsistency plagued the talented wideout at South Carolina. Evaluators want to see someone carry their success through thick and thin, Jeffery just hasn't shown that ability. In fact, Jeffery seems to have gone out of his way to draw comparisons to former draft flameout Mike Williams of USC. The talents are similar to Williams, but so is the lack of discipline.

Jeffery is a highly touted NFL prospect that I was once sold on myself. Through the test of time, he morphed my confidence into skepticism.

Counting the last 41 first-round wide receivers, 25 percent of them are out of the league. If things continue at this pace, Alshon Jeffery could add to that percentage.

2. Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

Typically players that have a track record like former Florida Gator Janoris Jenkins does are knocked down draft board violently. If not scrutinized heavily, these type of repeat offenders are removed from draft board entirely.

Over his time as a at Florida, Jenkins was arrested a whopping three times. Two of the charges were related to marijuana and, to be honest, NFL teams aren't going to freak out over one of these charges. It's when a player shows a complete disregard for authority by not adapting to his mistakes, and learning from the experience. In addition to the negativity of multiple charges, Jenkins wasn't done with the law. He's also got a mark for fighting on his record.

Reports indicate that Jenkins is actually an avid fighter. Those issues have allegedly been around for awhile. Those "me against the world" types tend to be referred to as locker room cancer.

With all this being said, it's not hard to articulate why Jenkins qualified for this list. It only takes a few run-ins with the law to get a suspension in the NFL. Franchises take major denigration for harboring criminals, so if Jenkins' days of law breaking aren't over, he could be looking for work shortly into his career.

While I believe Jenkins is as gifted as any cover man up for selection in 2012, he's also one of the largest flight risks. In three years, I could look like an idiot for bashing a Pro Bowl player or I could be proved a prophet.

3. Zach Brown, LB, UNC

As far as linebackers go, Zach Brown is truly an elite athlete.

NFL scouts analyze players' ability to navigate the field in an athletic fashion on a daily basis. Guys like Brown are what they daydream about while watching film of inferior athletes. Standing at 6'2" and 230 lbs., the former Tar Heel is blessed with ideal size for the professional ranks. When you add ideal size to movement skills most offensive players would be happy with, you would normally get a highly touted first-round pick.

That isn't the case with Brown. On tape, the obvious athletic nature of his play is only matched by his rawness.

Brown is still in the early onset stages of being an NFL-caliber linebacker. On his whistle-to-whistle ability alone, Brown is a third- to fourth-round guy in my evaluation. I see a linebacker who doesn't have the toughness to go helmet-to-helmet with offensive linemen and physically extend into blockers. Brown can cover all the ground in the world, but when it gets to contact I don't see the killer mentality that a professional linebacker would require. He's a developmental, luxury pick in the top 50.

If Brown flames out, it'll be because the pieces of the puzzle just couldn't come together for him as a football player. There's a difference between an athlete and a football player.

4. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

No one can put a hamper on the amazing career LaMichael James had in the NCAA.

James survived and thrived in the one-of-a-kind system Oregon HC Chip Kelly deployed. James used his speed laterally to out flank defense and win the edge. He's got the ability to improvise efficiently, making defenders miss without losing ground. I'll be the first one to admit his brilliance on the college level. However, I don't see his abilities translating to higher ranks of competition.

James is a great leader, so contrary to the trends of the list I can't knock on him for that. It's the translation to the NFL that has me concerned. Professional offenses aren't going to be able to scheme him to the edge of spread-out defenses like they could at Oregon. James' game is going to have to completely change. That's a rough way to come into the NFL.

I think it's possible for him to be a Sunday success story. If an organization works him into a rotation, utilizing his swing abilities, I think he can have value.

However, if that level of intense developmental care isn't given to James, I think he's a massive threat to be a wasted investment.

5. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

Kellen Moore is one of my favorite quarterbacks I've ever had the pleasure to watch on Saturdays.

Moore vaulted the lowly Boise State Broncos to the top of college football with his cerebral gifts as a passer. On a football intelligence level, Kellen Moore is exactly what the NFL is searching for. He's an elite decision-maker, mostly because of his innate ability to read defenses.

It's now time for the incredibly disappointing part of Moore's writeup.

Even though he's the winningest quarterback in college football history, Moore simply doesn't have the physical talent to be an starting NFL signal-caller. The arm strength isn't there. The body size isn't there. When you can't drive the ball to a receiver on the edge coming back to you on a comeback route with a corner breaking on the ball, you can't play this position in the NFL. Moore doesn't have the gifts necessary to make the throws the NFL requires. Durability is huge in modern professional football, seeing that edge defenders get better every season. Moore isn't the prototype for size. At the Senior Bowl, he measured in at 5'11", 181 lbs.

That's just not going to cut it. I hate to say this stuff about a player that does all the right things, but there is a point were it can't go any further.

Kellen Moore is at a major risk to flame out of the NFL—that is, if he already hasn't.